Here’s what we’ve learned after decades of practice and teaching thousands of practitioners:
Needlers - You can know every acupuncture point location and still struggle to get consistent results.
Bodyworkers - You can have the strongest hands in the room and still burn out your body.
The missing piece? Deep meridian knowledge.
Not just intellectual understanding - but the ability to feel, diagnose, and work with the energetic pathways that run through the body.
This is what Bhaktiatsu 101: Table Shiatsu teaches you. And it’s transformative whether you work with needles or hands.
PS. As a new year meridian player community treat….For the next 14 days, we’re offering 20% off all courses including Bhaktiatsu 101: Table Shiatsu. - Code down the bottom!
For Needlers: Know Where (and Why) to Place Your Needles
If you’re an acupuncturist, dry needler, or allied health professional working with needles, here’s the truth:
Knowing point locations isn’t enough.
You need to understand:
Which meridian is actually calling for treatment
How to diagnose the root pattern, not just symptoms
How the channels move through the body and how to feel and work with the channel
The 88 points that create life changing results
That’s what gets you consistent, life-changing results for your clients.
For Bodyworkers: Protect Your Body, Amplify Your Impact
And if you’re a massage therapist or bodyworker, ask yourself:
How many more years can you work the way you’re currently working?
How often do your thumbs ache? Your wrists? Your shoulders?
Learning Shiatsu meridian work changes everything:
You use less effort for better results
Your body mechanics become sustainable
Clients feel profound shifts with gentler touch
You gain diagnostic clarity about where to work
As TJ says: “Chinese medicine is easy on the body. It’s sustainable.” Unlike deep tissue work that wears you down, meridian work gets more refined and effortless over time.
And you don’t need needles. Pressure, stretching, and energetic connection through your hands - that’s the foundation of shiatsu.
A Glimpse: The Spleen Stretch
What You Just Witnessed is a snippet of the spleen module
In just a few minutes, TJ covered:
The Anatomy of Differentiation:
Foot below the knee, drop it out = Spleen opens
Foot above the knee, open it up = Liver opens
This is how you learn to see and feel the difference between channels
The Mother Hand Principle:
TJ reminds us of the multiple functions of the mother hand:
Listening to feedback from the child hand
Gauging how much pressure is safe
Maintaining inline stabilization of the recipient’s spine
That last one is crucial for the spleen stretch. Watch where his hand is positioned - not only on the spleen diagnostic zone, but stabilizing the pelvis and low back. Without this support, the low back hyperextends and the whole stretch becomes compromised.
The Practitioner’s Body:
TJ demonstrates two approaches:
Using his knee under the client’s knee for support (which he’s done for decades but now notices strain in his hip)
Keeping his pelvis flat with proper weight distribution (cleaner, safer, more sustainable)
This is the honesty you get in this course - not just “here’s the technique,” but “here’s what I’ve learned over decades of practice, including what works and what might hurt you long-term.”
The Energetic Approach:
Notice his answer about the “tree branch” (liver point on the spleen channel): “I’m not trying to elicit a response in the liver. I’m trying to convince this person that they’re so stable, they’re so nourished, they’re so solid that their wood can relax.”
This is the difference between mechanical technique and energetic understanding.
The Course That Keeps Giving
Here’s what makes Bhaktiatsu 101: Table Shiatsu different:
This course wasn’t originally meant to be a product. It was recorded because TJ’s in-person students kept asking for it. They’d sit through his live trainings and realize there was so much information coming at them that they needed to go over it again and again.
It takes multiple passes to absorb everything TJ is teaching. That’s not a bug - it’s a feature. This is the kind of knowledge that reveals itself in layers.
And then you keep returning to it as your practice deepens. When a client presents with a specific pattern, you can go back to that meridian module and refresh your understanding.
Plus: We’re planning a live course later this year where you can practice hands-on with TJ and the community. Having this recorded foundation means you’ll show up already fluent in the language, ready to go deeper.
Your Invitation
If you’ve been watching our content, engaging with our articles, feeling the pull toward deeper meridian knowledge - this is your moment.
For the next 14 days, we’re offering 20% off all courses including Bhaktiatsu 101: Table Shiatsu.
Use code: [Meridian2026]
Whether you’re a needler wanting to get more consistent, life-changing results, or a bodyworker wanting to protect your hands and body while deepening your impact - the meridians are the foundation.
Once you know them in depth, it becomes an endless source of joy. And it’s so clear.
Links to courses below
Learn Shiatsu - Bhaktiatsu 101 -Click here - $397 now $317.60
Massage mastery course (Bundle) - click here - $497 now $397
Advanced Acupuncture course (Bundle) - here - $697 - now $557
Meridian pathology and treatment - here - $197 - now $157
Acupuncture Manual - here - $38.99 now $31
Questions? Thoughts? Want to share what meridian you’re working with right now? Drop a comment below - we love hearing from our community.
